Misunderstandings
by McAbbyAddict
Summary: Abby's thoughts surrounding McGee's relationship in 'Designated Target'. Crappy summary. Now rated T for safety's sake. This is going to be a bit fluffy  COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Ok, so this one has a tag to 'Designated Target'. I was just thinking to myself, what if Abby had meant what she said to McGee a little differently? **

**Italics is direct quotes from the episode**

**Disclaimer: All characters etc belong to Belisarius Productions, and not to me.**

"_I kinda dig it, you know?"_

She forced herself to smile and give him some advice, as any good friend would

"_Love is never having to read her her Miranda rights, but she's going to do this to someone else. Throw her psycho ass in the brig. I love you McGee, that should be enough."_

She walked away, leaving him at his desk. She needed to escape before she lost her self control. It had already slipped enough that she'd just told Tim how she felt about him. With luck, he would take it as a friendly emotion, not the deep seated longing it actually was.

It had taken her a long time to realise exactly what it was that she felt for Tim. She'd be working with him, or just hanging out with the guy that had quickly become her best friend, and she'd notice something about him and think to herself that it was one of the things she loved about Tim. Gradually it occurred to her that she was adding more and more things to her mental list. So she'd forced herself to sit down and think about it one weekend when she was alone, and she'd come to the inescapable conclusion. She was in love with Timothy McGee. She had no idea what to do with the knowledge, so she'd pushed it to the back of her mind as much as she could. It surfaced occasionally; this psycho girl he'd been dating had brought it all back.

She took the 365 steps to her lab as quickly as she could without running, hoping that no one would come find her for a while.

...

She let herself wallow for a little bit, before telling herself she had to get back to work and stop thinking about McGee and his new hinky girlfriend. Soon she was absorbed in her tests, taking refuge in the science that at least made sense to her.

She worked steadily for hours, finally noticing that the windows of her lab were darkened and the usual flow of passersby had slowed to a trickle. She silently marvelled at her attention span. Normally by now she would have gotten distracted by something. Maybe giving up the caffeine was actually helping. It was time to call it a day. She set the last computer search to run overnight, and then started shutting down her equipment for the night. As she turned to power down Major Mass Spec, a figure leaning against her refrigerator caught her eye. She jumped back a little, startled

"Geez McGee, how long have you been standing there?" she demanded

"I dunno, a couple of minutes" he shrugged, sounding a little down. He wandered over to her computer desk, sitting down on one of the chairs. Obviously he had something on his mind, and she could hazard a guess as to what it was. She went back to the desk and sat down next to him. He needed to talk, and he'd come to her. Just because it was about his crazy, hopefully ex-, girlfriend didn't mean she wouldn't help him.

"I took your advice" he told her "You were right; I wasn't the first guy she'd done this to, and I wasn't going to be the last. At least I know to keep my financial details a little better protected, huh?" he gave her a wan smile

"Is there something wrong with me, Abby? It seems like every woman I've dated has some serious flaw. Except you, of course"

Her heart went out to him. He sounded so frustrated and sad

"McGee, there is nothing wrong with you. It's not your fault that psychos are attracted to you" she told him. "Don't forget, Tony's had his fair share of crazy women too" she tried to keep it light hearted, but she could see that it wasn't helping

"Seriously, Tim, this is absolutely not your fault. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You're smart, funny, kind... you just need to find the right woman"

"Thanks Abs" his smile this time was closer to normal "I needed that"

They sat in silence for a moment, each lost in thought before he spoke again

"You know Abs, for once it would be great to have a date with a nice normal woman"

Without thinking, she blurted out

"What about me?"

He looked extremely taken aback

"Excuse me?"

"What about a date with me?"

...

He stared at her in disbelief. For a moment his heart soared. The prospect of a date with Abby was like a dream come true. But just as quickly, reality returned. This was Abby. As much as he loved her, she wasn't looking for a relationship, at least not the kind he had in mind. He'd found that out the hard way before, and it had taken him a very long time to get over her. Well, as far over her as he could get. And so as much as he wanted to throw caution to the winds, he shook his head.

"I can't be the kind of guy you're looking for, Abby" he told her seriously. Then without waiting to see her reaction, he turned and walked out of her lab.

He headed back to the bullpen to grab his gear, pausing as he heard his cell phone beep. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw he had a text message from Abby. Opening it, he read the single line

'You already are'

What was that supposed to mean? Was that really what she thought, that he was after something casual with her? That had been the whole point of them breaking up the first time, that he wasn't after a casual relationship. He tried to frame a reply, but nothing came to mind. Suddenly annoyed with her, he locked the phone and dropped it back into his pocket without responding. It was time to go home.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This one is short guys, sorry. I really had to leave it there. The next chapter will be longer, I promise. F.**

Abby expected some sort of reply to her text pretty much straight away. Tim always replied to her messages. Granted, this wasn't her usual sort of message. She'd sent it on a whim, wanting him to know what he hadn't given her the chance to say. So she watched her phone nervously as she finished packing up the lab for the night, as she drove home, as she got dinner, expecting to hear a noise from it as he responded.

But he never did.

She tossed and turned for most of the night. What had she done? He'd gotten over her years ago, she knew that. But she hadn't been able to leave it alone; she'd pushed the issue, and look what it had gotten her. Definite proof that he didn't want her that way. . His reply to her question had shown that.

Wearily she got up as the sunlight started to filter through the drapes. She'd shower and go in early today. And not think about Tim McGee, she told herself sternly. Even as she thought it, she knew it was a lost cause.

...

He was in a bad mood as he entered the bullpen. No one else was there yet; good. It gave him a chance to compose himself.

Completely unable to sleep, he'd spent half the night thinking about Abby's question and message, and the other half at his typewriter. He'd written pages and pages, all centred around Amy and McGregor's relationship. Re reading them, he knew that they were some of the best he'd ever written, but he'd never submit them in a manuscript; they were too personal. He'd been unable to destroy them though. They contained all his hopes and dreams that he cherished about Abby. So he'd filed them carefully away in an old folder of free writing, recognising as he did so that the dreams they contained were hopeless.

He still didn't know what to do about Abby. The anger he'd felt towards her last night had faded, but the hurt remained. On one hand, there was the knowledge that she wanted something other than friendship from him. On the other, that was tainted by the fact that Abby didn't do serious when it came to relationships. He couldn't do that again.

The ding of the elevator arriving made him look up. Seeing DiNozzo enter, he forced himself to greet him as normally as possible. He pushed thoughts of Abby to the back of his mind, telling himself to concentrate on work and only work.

If only it was that easy.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the delay and the shortness, it's been one crazy week. Two back to back 16 hour days and our CEO visiting us on the busiest day of the week (and at the busiest possible time) make for one tired fanfic writer. More tomorrow hopefully. F.**

The morning was routine; or at least as routine as a morning at NCIS headquarters ever was. Unfortunately, finishing off the last little bit of paperwork from their last case really didn't occupy the mind all that much. It was the tedious part of the job; and since typing came almost as naturally as breathing to McGee, it always gave him plenty of time to think. Too much time.

On top of his problem of what to do about Abby's surprising question was a new one. He'd never replied to her message. He'd picked up his phone time and time again to send her a reply, but he'd never been able to decide on what to say. Every possible answer he'd come up with just seemed... inappropriate for a mere text message. Some things had to be discussed in person. So now he'd have Abby annoyed at him for ignoring her. She hated to be ignored, he knew that.

He sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed help with this. But who could he go to? Gibbs? He immediately dismissed that idea. Going to Gibbs for advice about women was not a smart move, quite apart from Rule 12. Ducky? Somehow he didn't feel comfortable about that either. Palmer was laughable. That left Tony. Surely Tony would help?

...

He waited until Tony got up to leave for the lunch run, quietly rising from his own desk and joining Tony in the elevator. He met Tony's quizzical look with a neutral expression; he didn't want to discuss this particular problem where they could be overheard. Tony might be a lot of things, but when it came to important matters, he was not indiscreet.

Once in the car, Tony asked

"So what's the problem, Probie?"

He didn't have a lot of time; he just had to come out and say it

"Tony, I need some advice"

Tony raised an eyebrow "Why don't you talk to Abby? Isn't that what you normally do?"

McGee tried not to wince at that one. Tony was right; Abby was his best friend, and usually that's what he'd do; talk to her. It made this situation a little ironic.

"Not this time, Tony"

He saw the look Tony gave him, but apparently he decided to let it slide

"Advice about what, McGee?"

"Women"

Tony gave a little disbelieving laugh

"Seriously, Probie"

"Look, Tony, I really need help here" the serious note in his voice made Tony stop laughing "I've got a problem and I have no idea what to do about it"

"Is this about that girl you're dating? She's some crazy piece of work, McGee"

"No, I broke it off with her. This is something else"

"How in the hell do you have two girls you need help with at the same time, Probie?"

"Tony" he warned

"Ok, ok. So what's the problem?"

He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck in embarrassment, taking a moment to organise his thoughts

"Abby asked me out on a date" he admitted

"Whoa, way to go McGee!" he cut Tony off

"I said no"

"You did what?"

"I said no, Tony"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tony exclaimed, glancing towards him "I always thought you loved Abby"

He let that one pass; he had to figure this out first. How Tony had arrived at his admittedly correct conclusion could wait.

"I do, Tony. That's the problem"

"Let me get this straight. You love her, she asked you out, and this is a problem?"

"She's not after the same thing, Tony. She never has been". He knew that Tony got his meaning. He'd known Abby a long time, after all.

"How do you know?" Tony's question surprised him "She wasn't before, but that was years ago, McGee. People change" he pointed out

McGee stared at him

"Did you ask her?"


	4. Chapter 4

Tony was right, McGee decided. He needed to know exactly what Abby wanted from him. He'd jumped to conclusions; maybe he was wrong. He hoped he was. His first instinct was to go straight down to her lab, but then a thought occurred to him. He hadn't replied to her text message at all, not even to tell her that he wanted to talk in person. She was going to be angry with him, and there really wasn't anything he could do about it now. He'd just have to deal with it. The longer he left it, the angrier she'd be. Checking for Gibbs, he got up from his desk and headed for the elevator.

...

He steeled himself on the trip downstairs; it was possible that this was going to be the most difficult conversation they'd ever had, and there'd been a few. As he got closer to her lab, he realised he'd made an error in timing; he couldn't hear her usual music blaring. He went inside just to make sure, but she wasn't there. Sighing, he grabbed a block of sticky notes off her desk and scribbled a quick message

'Abs- we need to talk. Tim'

He stuck it to her monitor and went slowly back to the squad room. He'd come down and see her later.

...

Abby tried to keep her mind on the job at hand, but it wasn't easy. She couldn't seem to stop herself from checking her phone for missed messages, along with her email. She'd given up putting the phone away; it lay close to hand on her desk. There never was a message, and as the day wore on without some sort of response from him, she got angrier and angrier. After his reply to her ill thought out query, she didn't expect him to say anything that would give her hope for a closer relationship, but not replying at all? He could at least say something. Anything was better than this blank silence.

She was glad when lunch time arrived; at least getting out of the lab gave her something else to do than sit and brood.

...

She was at her computer bank, back to the door, when he entered with a crateful of evidence. They'd finally gotten a case in the early afternoon, and they'd just returned from processing the scene of a particularly violent homicide. He'd volunteered to take the evidence to Abby, hoping he'd actually get a chance to talk to her.

The music was turned up to an ear splitting level, and her hunched shoulders spoke volumes about her mental state. She was angry, really angry. He swallowed. This wasn't going to go well.

He put the crate down on the stainless steel table, clearing his throat to get her attention.

"Just leave it there, McGee" she told him without turning around

"Abby, are you ok?" he asked. He couldn't help but be concerned; obviously she wasn't ok

"I'm fine, McGee" her voice said otherwise

"Abby, I'm sorry if I upset you"

She shrugged, finally facing him. Her eyes were narrowed, her expression hard.

"McGee, I asked you out, you said no. No big deal"

She turned back to her computer

"Abby-"

"I've got work to do, McGee" she cut him off, typing faster as if to prove how busy she was. He took the hint and left.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a long day. McGee picked up the laptop he'd been working on, glad that he'd finally finished getting the information he needed off the hard drive and could go home. The case was over anyway, he'd just needed to log the last little bit of his case notes, and for that he'd needed the evidence at hand. He slipped the computer back into its evidence bag, making sure he picked up the other bags before he left his desk. They contained an external hard drive and multiple USB drives; it wouldn't do to leave them lying on his desk overnight. He slung his pack over his shoulder; he'd just take these back to where they belonged, then he'd head home.

He got in the elevator, pressing the button for the garage. For a second his hand hovered over the button for Abby's lab, then he changed his mind. She probably wasn't there, and even if she was she wouldn't be happy to see him. He sighed. Ever since she'd asked him out, she'd been more than just distant; she'd been cold. She'd barely spoken to him for two weeks, restricting her conversation to work related topics only, and when she didn't have to speak to him, she ignored him completely. He wished he knew how to fix it. He missed her like crazy.

He entered the evidence garage, heading towards the lockup. He signed the evidence bags back into the log, exiting the cage and relocking the gate. As he walked back to the elevator, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Abby. He was sick of this.

He went over to her

"Hey Abby" he greeted her "What are you doing here so late?"

"Working. What do you want, McGee?"

"My best friend back" he told her

"Sorry, I can't help you there McGee"

"Come on Abs, it's been two weeks. You can't still be mad at me"

"I asked you out, Tim. Do you think that was easy for me? And all I got was a headshake and an 'I'm not the kind of guy you want'. You didn't even reply to my text message!" Apparently she could be.

"Is that what this is about? I didn't reply because I wanted to talk to you in person, Abby"

"You didn't do that either, McGee"

"I tried; I went down to your lab twice. The first time you weren't there- I left you a note- and the second you practically threw me out!"

They were yelling now, both of them, all the frustration and hurt of the past fortnight finally coming to a head

"Because I was angry with you, Tim! It took me a long time to work up the courage to ask you out, and you didn't even think twice about it. And I'm not sure if I can go to back to being your friend"

She turned away from him and walked to the elevator. As she bent to use the iris scanner, there was a click, and the garage was plunged into darkness as the power failed. They were stuck

...

He heard Abby growl in frustration as the iris scanner went dead. Without power, they really didn't have a way of getting out of here, not without help from outside. Every exit bar the outer vehicle door had a biometric lock; the vehicle door was electric, and couldn't be opened manually. Knowing this, he resigned himself to being stuck here for a while.

Abby, however... he could hear her stumbling around in the pitch black, and by the sound of it she was heading towards the stairwell.

"That'll be locked too" he called out, knowing she'd check anyway. He heard clearly the sound of her platform boot hitting the door as she kicked it. He smiled a little in spite of himself. You had to admire her spirit. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, using the light it gave off to find his way over to the key cabinet. Checking the labels, he soon found the one he wanted- the spare key to the MCRT truck. Unlocking the back door of the truck, he rummaged around until he found the flashlights that were kept there. He grabbed two, clicking one on and shining it around until he found Abby. He went over to her

"Here" he handed her the spare flashlight "At least you'll have some light"

She shone the beam onto the iris scanner, examining it. McGee went back over to the workbench she'd been using before, sitting down on one of the chairs and checking to see if he had signal on his cell. He didn't. That was odd; usually he got at least a faint signal down here. He put it down to the blackout affecting the local cell towers.

"Don't these things have some sort of manual override?" she called out a few minutes later

"Yeah, they do. But neither of us have a high enough security clearance to have access to the overrides" he informed her. The security in the Navy Yard was tight; only a few people could access the manual overrides on the biometric locks to prevent them from being disabled. She muttered something to herself, then

"Surely you'd be able to get through that security"

"Sure, given the time and a computer, I could get through it. But I'm not going to"

"McGee!"

"Hey, I'd like to still have a job in the morning Abby. It's not like this is a life threatening situation" he pointed out. He opened one of the many games on his phone and started playing it. He could hear her stomping around and see the flashlight beam out of the corner of his eye as she checked every exit. Finally she gave up, coming back over to the bench and flopping down on one of the other chairs.

"How long do you think we'll be stuck down here?" she asked

"I have no idea" he knew it was a rhetorical question, but at least she was talking to him. Sort of. "But I'd save that flashlight battery if I were you"

She got up again, moving around restlessly.

"What do we do now?" she asked him.

Sighing, he put the phone down  
"Well, the way I see it, you've got two choices. You can keep on ignoring me like you have for the past two weeks, or you can come back over here and we can talk" he told her


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I could have posted this last night about an hour after I posted the last chapter, but it needed polishing. Hope you like it guys. **

**Inspiration struck big time last night... I got two chapters of this written, plus a chapter of another. And I roughed out a new story. As much as I hate sleep deprivation, it's weirdly inspiring. F.**

In the dim light from the phone and the flashlight, he could faintly see her. She had her arms crossed against her chest, and her face had that pensive look she got when she was trying to decide something. He loved that look. He knew if he said anything now, she'd get defensive again, and then they'd lose any chance they had of recovering from this mess. So he waited, careful not to distract her from her thoughts, watching her until she relaxed the tiniest fraction as she made up her mind.

"What note?" her question caught him by surprise

"Sorry?"

"You said you left me a note. What note?"

"The sticky note I left on your monitor" he replied, a little confused. She looked mystified, so he elaborated "I came downstairs after lunch looking for you, but you weren't in the lab. So I wrote you a note and stuck it on the edge of your monitor. Didn't you see it?" The question was rhetorical; even without the shake of her head he could tell she hadn't.

"That's why I came back down to your lab later that afternoon; I hoped you'd have time to talk. Some things just can't be discussed in a text message, Abby. But by then..." he let the sentence trail off. He was sure she remembered.

"You stuck it on my monitor?"

He nodded "Near the edge of the screen"

"Closest to the chair?"

"I guess so, yeah" What did it matter?

She'd taken a few steps closer while they talked, and he could see her clearly now in the light.

"That's right above the trash can" she said as if to herself "That's what must have happened"

He must have had a questioning look on his face, because she explained it to him

"That side of my monitor, it sticks out a little bit over the edge of the desk. Those notes, they don't stick real well; I always have to use a piece of tape if I put them on the monitor. If you put one there, and it fell, it would have landed right in-"

"The trash can" he finished. Part of her reaction made a lot more sense to him now. Abruptly she moved, sinking down onto the chair next to him again. She was paler underneath her already pale makeup "I thought..."

"I know what you thought" he cut across her, doing his damnedest to keep the hurt out of his voice and almost succeeding. She'd jumped to conclusions, the same way he had, and look what it had gotten them both. She must have heard it, the edge in his voice, because she reached out slowly and put her hand on his arm where it lay on the bench.

"I'm sorry, Tim" she whispered "I should have known you wouldn't just ignore me, not when its important" Part of him wanted to snap at her, tell her that of course she should have known him better, should have known that he'd never treat her that way, never hurt her like that. But she had been hurt, and it was his fault, inadvertent or not. So he pushed his own hurt aside and covered her hand with his own and gave her a slightly twisted smile

"I'm sorry too, Abs"

He knew he had his best friend back, and for a few moments all he felt was relief. He hated fighting with Abby, and this had been the longest fight ever. He tried to tell himself it was enough for now, that they could deal with whatever else they might become to each other later. But something told him that if he didn't press it, they'd never get another chance.

Besides, he really wanted to know what she'd meant by that text message.

...

They sat like that in silence for a few minutes. Her mind was racing; she'd misjudged him, assumed that he was like every other guy she'd ever dated. Forgotten that he was different. That he cared. It was on her mental list of things she loved about Timothy McGee; he cared. She knew she had a volatile temper, but something about him could make her so much angrier than anyone else she'd ever met. She guessed it was because no one else she'd ever met had the power to hurt her quite so badly.

He shifted uneasily beside her, drawing her out of her thoughts. He muttered something under his breath, too low for her to be able to catch it clearly. It sounded like he said 'I gotta know'

"Abby?" his voice sounded strained and hoarse. She could see the muscles in his throat work as he swallowed nervously. "What did you mean? Your text message" he clarified

"Oh" she felt her heart start to race. This was it. Either she told him the truth, which was more than just a little scary, or she somehow managed to come up with some elaborate lie in the next few seconds. They'd come this far; she owed him the truth. "I meant exactly what I said, Tim. You told me you can't be the kind of guy I'm looking for; you don't need to be the kind of guy I'm looking for. You are the guy I'm looking for". By the end of her somewhat involved sentence, she was blushing and staring at her hands. She made herself continue. "It just took me a really long time to figure it out, I guess; why no one else feels right, not like you".

She'd stopped short of saying the three scary little words, but he'd gotten the gist. She'd heard the intake of breath from beside her. He might be slightly clueless about women, but Tim was as far from stupid as you could get and still be human. She held her breath, waiting for his reaction.

Slowly he withdrew his arm from under her hand, catching her chin in his hand and gently making her look at him. Even in the poor light, she could see his eyes gleaming with the most intense look she'd ever seen. Hope, passion, yearning, tenderness... it was all written on his face, and she could feel his hand trembling where he touched her

...

The sense of disbelief he'd felt two weeks ago in her lab was back, this time mixed with a wild elation. He felt right to her? She'd felt right to him from their first date; he'd spent years wishing, hoping, despairing of this moment.

"You really mean that, don't you" he murmured, not questioning but with wonder in his voice

She nodded, but he didn't need the confirmation. Her eyes screamed what she'd shied away from saying.

"I love you, Abs" he told her


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: You didn't think I'd finish it there, did you?**

**This is very short, but its 5.20am here and it seemed like the logical place to stop. F.**

He'd finally said it. He saw the glitter of unshed tears in her eyes as she absorbed his words, saw an elation that matched his own flit across her face, then watched her grow serious again.

"Tim-" she started to say something, then apparently thought better of it. Gently she moved his hand away from where it still cupped her chin, rolling her chair as close to his as she could. She leaned towards him, kissing him gently. She moved back a little, then kissed him again, harder this time, sliding her hands into his hair, pulling him closer.

He knew he still owed her an apology and an explanation for assuming she was only after a fling, but it was hard to think while she was kissing him the way she was. He groaned as she pressed closer to him. Abandoning any attempt at coherent thought, he pulled her onto his lap so he could kiss her properly.

...

Alarm bells rang faintly in the back of his mind. His jacket and tie lay discarded somewhere in the darkness, along with her spiked dog collar and cuffs; her red jumpsuit was undone almost to her waist, showing her tight black t shirt, and his shirt hung open. She was still sitting on his lap, trailing kisses down his neck. He wanted so badly to just let go; the feel of her was driving him crazy. But the faint, insistent warning couldn't be ignored. They couldn't do this, not here. For starters, who knew when the power would come back on? They could get caught, and he was pretty sure they'd get fired for that. On top of that, he wasn't Tony; he didn't habitually keep protection on him. He wouldn't risk putting Abby through those consequences. He had to stop this now, before it was too late.

So reluctantly he reached up and unwound her arms from around his neck, gently making her look him in the eyes. She stared at him, confusion written on her face and her eyes darkened with desire. His voice rough, he told her  
"We have to stop, Abby"

She shook her head

"I don't want to stop, Timmy. Do you?"

He pushed her back a fraction

"God, no"

"So why?"

"It's not safe, Abs. And if we don't stop this now, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to"

He could see the mischievous glint in her eyes as she realised exactly how badly she was affecting him. Playing it safe, he slid her off his lap and back onto her chair. She pouted a little at the move, but accepted the necessity.

"I'll make it up to you later" he promised "but right now, I need to explain something"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Ok, sorry it's takne me so long to update this, I've been working on my other WIP. Thank you to everyone for your reviews and alerts! F.**

She gave him a look

"You need to pick your moments better, Tim" she informed him. He half smiled at that. It was terrible timing, he knew, but at least he'd distracted both of them from their previous occupation. He really didn't think his self control could take any more, not right now.

"I know" he told her, deciding not to elaborate; he didn't put it past her to push that little bit further than he could handle at the moment. He took a deep breath, knowing that he could end up with her angry at him all over again.

"I wanted you to know why I said no to a date with you"

In the semi darkness he saw her eyes widen as she realised that that particular question hadn't been answered

"I know you haven't asked me to explain that, but sooner or later you were going to wonder and I didn't want you annoyed at me because I didn't' tell you straight away. I'm done with the misunderstandings, Abs. We just spent two weeks not talking to each other because we both jumped to the wrong conclusions" he pointed out

"Both of us?" she asked

"Yeah, both of us. When you asked me out, I assumed you weren't looking for anything serious" he admitted "That's why I said I couldn't be the kind of guy you wanted- I thought you wanted a something casual, like we had before"

He studied her, watching her reaction, half afraid she was going to lose her temper again. It wasn't a very flattering conclusion that he'd jumped to. Strangely, she didn't look angry but rather somehow sad

"Abby?"

"That's honestly what you thought I was asking?"

"Yeah" he admitted sheepishly "You'd made it pretty clear when we broke up that that's all you wanted, and I guess I just assumed that that was still the same. It wasn't until the next day that Tony pointed out to me that I hadn't asked you what you wanted" he cringed as he realised that he'd just let slip Tony's involvement, slight as it was

"Tony? How does Tony know?" she sounded unusually calm, like she was trying not to get angry

"Um, I told him" he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck in embarrassment "I needed someone to talk to and I couldn't really talk to you"

"How much does he know?"

"Not much; just that you'd asked me out and I'd said no"

"Ok" she dropped her head into her hands for a moment, then raised it and looked at him "Why Tony?"

"Well, it was either him or Gibbs. Can you see me talking to Gibbs about us?"

She shook her head at that, grinning at the thought

"Probably not a good idea" she allowed

"Anyway, I said no because I didn't want to get into another casual relationship, Abby. Getting over you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, and I guess I never really managed it. Otherwise we wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation" he said wryly, trying to make her smile again. As he'd gone on, the sad look had returned to her face

"I really hurt you, didn't I?" she asked, pain of her own in her voice

He couldn't deny it. She had; but that was years ago now, and the last thing he wanted was for her to feel guilty.

"Yeah, you did" he told her in a soft voice

"I never realised, Tim. I never meant to hurt you"

He reached out and pulled her into a hug

"Not your fault, Abs" he told her "You couldn't have known that I was going to fall for you. And I wouldn't change a thing"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Ok, this is the final chapter. I'm sorry it took so long; I think I've rewritten it 4 times now, and I'm still not convinced I like the ending. Thanks for reading. F.**

She'd never realised how much their breakup had affected Tim. When he'd told her he loved her, she'd thought that this was something new. Her head on his shoulder, she had to face the fact that not only had she broken his heart but that he'd managed to conceal it for years. And she hadn't stopped at that; by remaining friends with him, she'd only compounded the pain she'd caused. She'd teased him, confided in him, flirted with him; hell, she'd practically paraded every new boyfriend in front of him. No wonder he'd been so reluctant to go out with her again. She winced, burying her face in his shoulder as the magnitude of the damage she'd inflicted on him sunk in. She felt his hand gently stroke her hair

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. The fact that he was still so concerned about her even after all she'd done to him brought tears to her eyes.

"I'm sorry" she told him, her voice muffled by his jacket. She felt rather than heard his sigh. "It's ok, Abs". She let it ride, knowing that he wasn't really ok, not yet. She'd make sure of it.

...

She yawned, trying to hide it. The stresses of the day, the case, their fight, all combined to make her feel tired and drained.

"Sleepy?" he asked out of the darkness. They'd turned the flashlight and the screen of his cell phone off to save the battery. Without waiting for an answer, he released her, gently pushing her back into a sitting position on her chair. He stood and picked up the flashlight, flicking it on and walking away. She could see the beam of light moving around as he searched through the back of the MCRT truck, finding something and spreading it out on the floor near the wall. He came back over to her, holding out his free hand

"Come on. You can't go to sleep there, Abs; you'll fall" he told her. He led her over to the wall, where she saw a bunch of NCIS windbreakers spread out on the floor. She laughed a little

"Better than bare concrete" he pointed out. He took his jacket off and sat down, smiling at her amused look. He patted the spot beside him in encouragement. She took the invitation and settled down next to him, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer, and then clicked the flashlight off again

"Goodnight Abby" he murmured

"Night" she responded sleepily. It wasn't very cosy, she reflected, sleeping half sitting up against a wall. But the feel of being held by him was comforting, and the sound of his quiet breathing was soothing. "I love you, Tim" she told him on the point of sleep. The last things she remembered was his arm tightening around her and his soft reply

"I know, Abs"

...

The click and whir of the electricity coming back on woke her hours later. She raised her head to find him looking down at her

"Power's back on" he told her "We'll be able to get out in a minute; we should get up"

She nodded, getting unsteadily to her feet. She was stiff from sleeping in an awkward position for so long. She helped him pick up and dust off the windbreakers that had formed their makeshift bed, restoring them and the flashlights to their rightful places in the truck. He locked the doors, hanging the keys back up where they belonged, then went and inspected the iris scanner at the elevator doors. The telltale blue lights were on, indicating it was back online. He turned to find her, seeing she was right behind him

"It's Saturday; let's get out of here, go home and get some decent sleep" he suggested. Seeing her nod, he bent to the iris scanner, breathing a sigh of relief when the elevator doors opened. He pressed the button for the first floor. They opened at the main entrance floor, revealing a confused looking janitor.

"Were you two stuck down there all night?" the janitor asked "Must have been uncomfortable"

Grinning, McGee wrapped one arm around Abby's waist "Actually, it was surprisingly enjoyable" he told the slightly shocked looking janitor.

They left the building, both squinting in the bright sunshine as they made their way to the parking lot. She gave him a crooked smile as she started her hearse

"So. Your place or mine?"


End file.
